Electric apparatus



March 10, 1935. BIGNON 2,033,508

ELECTRIC APPARATUS Filed Aug. 29, 1954 52 +9 I so s3 3s Patented Mar. 10, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC Lucien Bigno APPARATUS 11, Paris, France Application August 29, 1934, Serial No. 741,979 In France September 4, 1933 6 Claims.

only, in which:

Fig. l is an elevation of an apparatus, the inductor being sectioned according to line l| of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus the handle having been displaced through 90, the section being made according to line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the apparatus, the rolling ring constituting a binding hoop being removed. In the example illustrated, the armature shaft is indicated at 3 I.

This shaft is fixed, this being obtained in any manner whatever, and for instance by means of screws 32, which hold the shaft 3i rigid with the branches 33 of a yoke provided with any gripping means. The armature has a middle portion 30 of slightly larger diameter and it is radially slotted at 34, for avoiding the production of eddy currents.

shaft are rigidly parts 35 and 35 three branches,

On this secured two laminated flared these flared parts each having as more clearly shown in Fig. 2

and at I in Fig. 3, and, in this example, the inductor has three plained later on.

pairs of poles, as will be ex- Since the flared parts each have three branches, they are angularly displaced from each other to the extent of 60. said flared parts the Between interval is occupied by the coil 36, which is easily and firmly held therein without any other support. This coil is concentric with the axis of rotation, and it is externally covered by 2. meta The armature 1 ring 31 serving as a tapping. is provided With a contact member.

The flared part contact breaker.

35 serves as a support for the One of the branches supports an insulating member 38 through which a contact screw 39 passes. at 40, the pivot p ceives, at 42, the

with the contact screw 3 tends to cause the member The adjacent branch receives, in of a member 4| which removable contact cooperating 9. A spring 43 always 4| to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow f, the spring 43 being attached, at its turn, is secure 44, to a support 45 which, in d to the third branch of the flared part 35 The member 4| is provided at 45 with a projection acting as a cam and the function of which will be explained later on.

The inductor is provided in this case with three pairs of poles, the said poles being designated by 48. These poles extend throughout the width of the apparatus and constitute a framework; in this example, they are welded to one of the ends of a circular magnet notched so as to form a six branch star and reinforced by a ring which forms a rolling ring; at the other end, the poles 48 fit into the bore 5| of the ring 52 which acts as a binding hoop, and also at 53, as a second rolling ring. A multipolar flat permanent magnet 49 is associated with the pole pieces 48 and is secured to the ring 50. The branches of one of the flared parts 35 and 35 are located under the pole pieces of one and the same polarity, whilst the branches of the other flared part are opposite pole pieces of reverse polarity, the angular displacement being of 90 for four poles, of 60 for six poles, of 45 for eight poles, etc. This arrangement from the magnetic standpoint ensures the variation and reversal of the inducing flux in the core constituted by the armature shaft.

On the framework constituted by the poles fits a rubber sleeve 54, which centrally receives end metal rings 50 and 53. The rubber sleeve 54 has longitudinal notches into which fit the poles 48 (Figs. 1 and 2), to prevent the rubber sleeve from slipping relatively to the poles 48.

In this manner, the framework and the rubber sleeve 54 are angularly connected; moreover, the rubber sleeve 54 is provided with moulded projections 56 fitting into corresponding recesses of the rolling ring 55. The coil 36 receives on its periphery a flexible metal ring 31 forming a tapping, insulated from the apparatus and connected to the end of the wire terminating the coil and which constitutes the friction track for a, wiper 58. This ring is not continuous but is split at 38 and does not, therefore, form a complete circle in order to obtain the advantages that owing to the resiliency of the slotted ring it is easily fitted over the coil, and besides it does not constitute a closecl'circuit prejudicial to electrical efiiciency. The position of the slot is, of course, chosen relatively to the wiper in order that it should be opposite the latter only when the current is null. The ring 54 is perforated at 51 for the passage of the resilient wiper 58 which presses upon the metal ring 31. The two rolling rings 50 and 52 are connected to one and the same pole of the generator and the other ring 55, at

the middle insulated from the two first ones, is connected to the other pole; this latter ring is of a diameter smaller than that of the two other rings, in order that the contact should always take place between this latter ring and one of the ends. The central ring 55 is supported and insulated by the rubber sleeve extending beyond the same on either side for connecting the two end rings 50 and 52, the rubber sleeve having a circular recessin which the central ring 55 exactly fits, while at the same time ensuring diametrical and lateral centering.

One of the ends of the armature winding is electrically connected to the ring 31 and to the contact screw 39; the other end of the armature winding is connected to the apparatus. The contact 42 is also connected to the apparatus by the conducting blade 59, the screw 60 and the spring 43 attached at 44. When the contact 3942 is closed, the armature is therefore short-circuited, and there is no difference of potential between the central ring 55 which is under tension relatively to the end rings 5|] and 53. The projection 46 cooperates with the poles 48 for actuating the contact 42. This contact is opened when the cam 46 is located under a pole piece; it is on the contrary closed when the cam 46 is located between the pole pieces. It will be seen that these pole pieces 48 also serve a mechanical purpose since they'receive and support the outer rubber sleeve 54 which is necessary for massage which must be effected under elastic pressure but which also serves as an insulator for the central electrode 55.

What I claim as my invention and secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In an electric apparatus utilizable as an electrotherapeutic massage apparatus, a rotary framework having two flat cylindrical bottoms, a flat field magnet secured on one of the said bottoms, pole pieces in the shape of shells arranged from one bottom to the other according to the gener atrices of a cylindrical unit, an armature shaft centrally journalled in each of the said bottoms, means at the ends of said shaft for securing it to a gripping handle, an armature and a contact breaker device secured on the said shaft, and means for connecting the said armature to an external circuit, the current being produced by rotation of the framework on a fixed surface.

2. In an electric apparatus utilizable as an electrotherapeutic massage apparatus, a rotary framework having two fiat cylindrical bottoms, a fiat field magnet secured on one of said bottoms, pole pieces in the shape of shells arranged from one bottom to the other according to the generatrices of a cylindrical unit, an insulating casing arranged between the said bottoms and the periphery of which is offset relatively to that of said bottoms, a median conducting ring held in the middle region of the said insulating casing and having an external diameter greater than that of the bottoms, an armature shaft centrally journalled in said bottoms, means at the ends of the said shaft for securing it to a gripping handle, laminated multi-pole flared parts secured on said shaft and leaving between them a space for receiving an armature winding, a contact breaker device at one of the ends of said shaft, and means for connecting the said winding to an exdesire to ternal circuit comprising the median ring and the said bottoms, this circuit closing through the surface on which the apparatus is caused to roll by means of the gripping handle and relatively to the fixed armature.

3. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 2, a distortable conducting slotted ring for enclosing the armature betwen the laminated multi-pole flared parts and electrically connected to the armature whilst remaining insulated from the apparatus, and a wiper for connecting the said slotted ring to the median conducting ring of the framework.

4. In'an electric apparatus utilizable as an electrotherapeutic massage apparatus, a rotary framework having two flat cylindrical bottoms, a flat field magnet secured on one of said bottoms, an inductor having pole pieces in the shape of shells arranged from one bottom to the other according to the generatrices of a cylindrical unit, an insulating casing arranged between the said bottoms and the periphery of which is offset relatively to that of said bottoms, a median conducting ring held in the middle region of the said insulating casing and having an external diameter greater'than that of the bottoms, an armature shaft centrally journalled in said bottoms, means at the ends of the'said shaft for securing it to a gripping handle, laminated multipole flared parts secured on said shaft and leaving between them a space for receiving an armature winding, a contact breaker device at one of the ends of said shaft, and actuated by the pole pieces of the inductor which act as cams, and means for connecting the said winding to an external circuit comprising the median ring and either of the bottoms.

5. A mechanical generator for electric current, more particularly for massage treatment, comprising a rotary inductor forming a massage roller, and a fixed armature, characterized in that the inductor is formed by a flat multipolar permanent magnet, pole pieces connected externally to the poles of the magnet and perpendicularly to the plane of the magnet, outer end rings for securing said pole pieces, said outer rings acting'simultaneously as rollers, a rubber sleeve covering the whole between the outer end rings, the armature having a cylindrical winding, the axis of said cylindrical winding being the axis of rotation of the inductor, end parts provided with radial projections, the number of said projections being equal to the number of pairs of poles of the inductors and being angularly displaced from each other so that when the radial projections of one end part are facing a pole of the inductor the radial projections of the other end part are facing the other pole, said cylindrical winding being arranged between said end parts.

6. A mechanical generator as claimed in claim 5, including a third ring disposed medially of said outer end rings and medially of said rubber sleeve, the diameter of said medial ring being larger than the outer end rings, said medial ring being connected to one of the ends of the armature winding and the two outer end rings being connected to the other end of said winding.

LUCIEN BIGNON. 

